posted 02 October 2008 11:02 PM
As much as I appreciate the sentiment of trying to get young people interested in politics, I don't like how things like this tend to give the impression that all you have to do to make a difference is drop a slip of paper once every four years and someone will come along and fix all those issues you care about. As you can probably tell from my screen name, I feel that Parliamentarism is the graveyard of a lot of social movements.

posted 03 October 2008 04:35 AM
Good video to get people to vote if they believe in voting but are too lazy to get up and register. (I think it's so stupid in the US that they have to register to vote so long before the election - it's like they're actively trying to discourage people from voting.)

But I don't like how they say that if you didn't register on time and therefore lose your chance to vote, all your power is gone.

No it's not. Voting is just one teensy tiny thing - and not even a very effective thing - you can do to promote social change and social justice. The US has an incredible progressive movement - the US Social Forum was teeming with incredible activists from organizations all over the country - including activists who are INELIGIBLE to vote because they're not citizens yet - who are organizing on the ground to make social change that neither the Republicans NOR the Democrats would ever make.

So don't believe it. If you can't vote or didn't vote or feel disenfranchised from voting and don't want to - that's fine. There are a million other more effective ways to get involved than voting.

From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001
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jrootham
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 838

posted 03 October 2008 06:43 AM

quote:Originally posted by Michelle: (I think it's so stupid in the US that they have to register to vote so long before the election - it's like they're actively trying to discourage people from voting.)

quote: Citizenship is already a legal requirement to vote in the United States, but GOP scare tactics have led more than a dozen states to consider additional legislation to require documented proof of citizenship, and in many cases a Voter ID card, in order to vote.

Voter registration rates in Arizona, the one state with both types of laws, suggest these cumbersome requirements will further disenfranchise low-income citizens, people of color and the elderly, all of whom are more likely to vote Democratic.

66: Percentage of voting-age women with proof of citizenship who have a document with current legal name. At least 32 million women may have proof of citizenship documents that do not reflect their current name.

25: Percentage of voting-age African-Americans who do not have a valid, government-issue photo ID.

15: Percentage of voting-age U.S. citizens earning less than $35,000 per year who do not have valid, government-issued photo ID.

18: Percentage of voting-age citizens age 18 to 24 who do not have photo ID with current address and name.